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Missing AirPods? Soon, Find My iPhone App Will Help

Apple's AirPods will get easier to find in iOS 10.3.

 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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With AirPods, Apple solved the problem of how to listen to your music on a headphone-jack-less iPhone 7, but the Bluetooth earpieces came with a new problem of their own: they're tiny and easily lost. Apple hopes to solve that problem with its latest iOS beta, which adds AirPods support to the Find My iPhone app.

Find My iPhone AirPods supportIn iOS 10.3, the beta version of which Apple starts seeding to developers today, you'll be able to locate your missing AirPods with Find My iPhone on an iOS device or via iCloud. The catch is that they have to be within Bluetooth range of one of your iOS devices—don't expect to find one that fell out of your ear while you were walking down the street. If they are within range of an iOS device, its location will be displayed to tell you where to look.

Even if they're not within Bluetooth range, Find My iPhone will still show the time, date, and location of the AirPod's last connection. The feature will work with one or both of the AirPods, and requires no additional setup as long as you already have Find My iPhone enabled.

In PCMag's review, we found that AirPods "while lightweight and fairly secure, can feel a bit precarious at times. The earpieces fit well enough in my ears, but if I were to go on a jog or exercise vigorously, it's not a stretch to imagine them falling out, something I don't worry about with the other pairs," Sascha Segan writes.

If you lose (or damage) an earpiece, it'll cost you $69 to replace it.

The iOS 10.3 update also showers some attention on Siri, which will get access to cricket scores and stats for the Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council, as well as expanded developer support for mobile payments and Apple Watch.

Other improvements extend to the far corners of the iOS ecosystem, from the addition of EV charging station locations in Apple Maps to more support for programmable home automation switches in HomeKit. Apple starts seeding iOS 10.3 beta 1 to developers today, and plans to make it available to members of its public beta program soon.

About Our Expert

Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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